Shifting-rail for vehicles



(No Model.)

J; W. HBWITT.

SHIFTING RAIL FOR VEHIGLES. NO. 340,577., Patented Apr. 27, 1886.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICEo J AOKSO V. HEVITT, OF JACKSON, MICHIGAN.

SHIFTING-RAIL FOR VEHICLES.

SPBCIE'ICATION fonning part of Letters Patent No. 340,577, dated April 27, 1886,

Application filed August 10` 1885. Serial No. 174.040. (No model.)

.T0 (LZZ who/77, it may concern:

Be it known that I, JACKSON W. HEWITT, of Jackson, in the State of Michigan, have invented an Improved Shifting Rail for Vehicles; and .I hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings and the letters of reference thereon.

This invention relates to a shifting or removable attachment adapted to be applied to a buggy or ot-her like vehicle as a support for the top, or to be removed therefrom when the presence of the top is not desired.

The object of my invention is to provide a light, strong, simple, and otherwise'improved construction of attachment for said purpose` which can be readily applied when it is desired to use the vehicle with a top, and as readily detached when the top is to be taken off, and which, when applied, shall serve as a means for effectively supporting the top' and for permitting the side and back curtains to be buttoned down.

To such end I provide a sectional rail adapted for attachment to the seat-body of the buggy, and comprising two side and desirably two back quarters or sections,which said side quarters or sections can be provided with buttons for the lower ends of the side curtains, while the back quarters or Sections can be provided with like buttons for thelower end of the back cnrtain. The side and back rail-sections meet at the two'rear corners of the seat-body, at which point they are held upon bolts arranged to screw into suitable sockets, and adapted to extend beyond the meeting ends of the sections, so as to provide the pivotal supports usually provided for the jointed braces of the top. The side rail Sections have their forward ends adapted to form supports or bearings for the bows, and at a point back of thei-r forward ends are socketed to receive the for- Ward ends of side rods, which are attached at their rear ends to the back of the seat-body, for the purpose of forming suitable rails or guards at the sides of the seat. The said forward ends of the side rods are formed to serve as bolts for holding the side rail-sections down upon the plates secured to the sides of the seatbody, and the back rail-sections are temporarily attached at their adjacen't ends to and at or near the middle of the back by bolts.

By such arrangement the side and back qnarters or rail-sections, together with the bolts at the two rear corners of the seat-body, can be readily removed, after which the side rods can be attached tothe plates upon the sides of the seat-body.

In the dra-wings, Figure 1 represents in perspective the seat-body of the buggy with my improved attachment applied. Fig. 2 represents in perspective. upon a larger Scale, one half of my improved attachment in oonjunction with a portion of one of the side or hand rods. Fig. 3 is a detail showing on a still larger scale a portion of one of the plates designed to provide sockets for the corner pivotbolts. Fig. 4 represents one of said corner pivot-bolts. Fig. 5 shows about on the scale of Fig. l the box-body in side eleva-tion with my attachnient removed. Fig. 6 is atop edge view of the two back rail-sections, and also represents the bolts for fastening their inner opposng ends to the back of the seat-body. Fig. 7 shows the back rail-section made in one piece.

' A indicates the seat-body, provided with a back, B, and of any ordinary or desirable construction. The bolts O subserve the usual purpose of providing supports for the lower ends of the jointed side brace, commonly cmployed for the top, and are arranged one at each of the two rear corners, respectively, at which points they are screwed into sockets desirably formed in socket-pieces D. Each socket-piece consists of a flat eye provided at the lower end of a metal Strap or plate, D', the plane of which latter is at right angles to the plane of the eye or socket portion D, so that when the straps or plates D' are secured against the back portion of the body, as herein represented, the eyes or socket-pieces D will lie in parallel Vertical planes, respectively, at oppositc sides of the seatbodv.

The bolts O are each provided with an inner threaded end, c, to fit its allot-ted socket-piece D, andv next beyond its inner threaded portion each bolt is provided with a short cylindric portion, c', extending from its threaded end portion,c. These cylindric portions o' of the bolts are designed to enaage and hold at the two rear corners the meeting ends of the side and back sections,which are at such points provided with eyes adapted to fit upon the corner-bolts. The back sections or quarters E each consist of a fiat -rail or bar provided at one end with an eye, c, bcnt at right angles to the main length of the section, so that when the section is fitted against the back of the seat-body its eye can be brought up to and in coincidence with one of the socketpieces D.

Vhile the back sections,E E, could obviously be made in one piece, they are desirably made in two parts, and secured attheir meeting ends by bolts F, passing through slots c', formed at their said ends. These back quarters can, and in practice usually will, be provided with suitable studs or buttons for the bottom ends of the back curtains, and can be temporarily secured iu place by the bolts O and F, as will be understood without further description.

Each side quarter or scction,G,consists of a flat rail or bar provided at its rear end with an eye and at its forward end bent upwardly, as at g, and then laterally, as at g', which laterally-bent end is usuall y threaded to engage such nut or nut-s as may be used in coupling` the same with the end of the bows.

At a point back of its upwardly-bent for- Ward end each side quarter or shifting-rail section is provided with a vertical aperture or socket-for example, at g`1-whioh sockets are designed to receive the lower forward ends of the side orhaud rods, H. These side rods are secured at their rear upper ends to the back portion of the seat-body, and have their lower forward ends reduced and threaded, as at h, so as to pass through the sockets of the side sections, G, and receive nuts h' after they have been dropped down through the sockets. As a support for the side sections at such points, plates I are secured .to the inner surfaces of the sides of the seat-body and bent over the top edges thcroof to provide seats, which are perforated to permit the passage of the bolt-shaped ends h of the side rods. Under such arrangement the side Sections, G, rest upon the upper end portions of the plates I, against which latter the nuts h' can be tightened up after the ends h of the side rods are fitted through the side Sections, G, and the perforated ends of the plates I.

To remove the attachment,it will simply be necessary to remove nuts hf, lift the ends of the side rods up from and out of engagement With the side Sections, G, so as to free the latter at their forward ends and to unscrew bolts O, so as to free both the back sections, E, and the rear ends of the side seetions, G, it being` noticed that' the back Sections, after the det-achment of bolts O, can be readily drawn out of engagement with the bolts F by reason of their slotted connection therewith.

The bolts O serve as means for secure] y holding` the outer ends of the back sections,E, when the parts are fitted together, as in Fig. 1, and heuce while the separation of the back section into two parts may 011 some accounts be necessary it will be evident that it could be made in one piece, as in Fig. 7, and the bolts F dis', pensed with.

\Vhat I claim as niy invention is- 1. The combination, with the scatbody provided with sockets at its rear corners, of the bolts adapted to engage in said sockets, the side rail-sections detachably held at their rear end upon said bolts, and the side rods secured at their rear ends to the back of the seat-body, and at their forward ends detachabl y connected with the side rail-sections, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination, with the seat-body, of the sectional rail composed of side and back Vquarters held at the rear corners of the seatbody by bolts passing through eyes at the meeting,` ends of said sections and screwed into sockets rigid with the seat-body, the side rods attached at their rear ends to the back of the seat-body,and at their forward ends fittcd into sockets formed through the side rail-quarters, and supports for the forward end portions of the side rail-qnarters, attached to the sides of the seat-body, substantially as described.

3. The combination, with the seat-body, of the back and side rail-quarters, E and G, the bolts O and F, securing said quarters, substan` tially as described, and the side rods, H, detachably connected with the side quarters, substantially in the manner specificd.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto signed my name in the prescnce of the two subscribing witnesses.

JOHN G. MUNDY, L. D. WELLING.

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